Kariudo
by Sashi
Summary: Rated for strong language- Kagome meets Ayumi's cousin, who looks suspiciously like a certain hanyou she knows. Do the smilarities end at appearances alone? Read to find out!


Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. Except Kari, who I own body, mind, and spirit, though she'd probably deny it.  
  
A/N: This is just a cute little idea I got. They're always taking about Kikyo's reincarnation, but what about Inuyasha's? I thought about it. Also, who said his reincarnation had to a boy? *cackles evilly* Enjoy!  
  
*****  
  
"Hey, Kagome! Kagome! Wait up!" Eri called after the young girl, racing after in the halls. After repeatedly bumping into other students through the herd, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi pushed their way through the large double doors, blinking in the sunlight.  
  
"Kagome!" Yuka continued, running after the girl. She pulled her back, and Kagome turned around in surprise.  
  
"Huh? Oh, hey guys." She said lightly, glancing around. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing. Now that you've finally gotten over your Hepatitis, would you like to go to the mall with us?" Eri asked excitedly.  
  
Kagome blushed at the thought of the types of diseases her grandfather had resorted to using as excuses for her absences. "Um..." She said, thinking for a moment. She didn't have to return to the Sengoku Jidai until the next morning.  
  
"Sure!" She replied happily. It seemed so long since she had last done something normal with her friends. Then a thought struck her. "Guys?" She asked, checking her digital watch that had a little yippy white dog that barked at every hour. "If we want to catch the bus there, we should hurry. It leaves in five minutes."  
  
"No need!" Ayumi piped up happily. "My cousin is visiting, and she can drive! She's borrowing my parents' car."  
  
"Oh." Kagome said. "Is she picking us up, or are we walking?" She asked.  
  
"She's picking us up at the main entrance. She'll be here soon, if she's not here already. We'd better get going." Ayumi explained and turned around.  
  
The group of girls walked back into the school; the halls were now filled with only with dwindling number of remaining students, walking along at their leisure paces. Kagome rushed through, trying to avoid any confrontations with teachers telling her she'd failed another test.  
  
They came out the other end of the building through the foyer where a silver Subaru was parked, reflecting the glinting sunlight. After three short tapping honks, the girls all headed toward it.  
  
"Now, before you guys meet Kariudo, I have to warn you. She's kind of weird. She has a really bad temper, and she loves to pick fights."  
  
Kagome snorted. //Sounds like someone else I know. //  
  
Ayumi pulled open up the back door and let the other three girls in, before seating herself next to her cousin.  
  
Kagome buckled up the middle belt and looked at Karuido. She was shocked with what she saw. Looking at Ayumi in the driver's seat was a young girl, no older than seventeen. Her long, white hair was shining so brightly it was almost silver. She rolled her bright amber eyes and tapped a long, elegant nail on the steering wheel.  
  
//Oh, wow. // Kagome thought as Kariudo shouted at Ayumi for taking so long. //I'll bet that's exactly what Inuyasha would look like if he was a girl. It's frightening. //  
  
Kariudo had just finished yelling at Ayumi and looked back to the other three. "Sorry about that."  
  
//Well, there goes the whole 'similar to Inuyasha' thing. // Kagome thought wryly.  
  
Eri and Yuka smiled. "It's alright. We shouldn't have taken so long." They nudged Kagome, bringing her out of her reverie.  
  
"Yes, sorry." She said absent-mindedly. "It's my fault. They had to come get me." Kagome felt blush rise to stain her cheeks as Kariudo narrowed her bright eyes at the girl for a moment.  
  
Kagome didn't know what it was. But, if she had to describe it, she would say that it felt like a rope had been lassoed around her and pulled her to the teen sitting at the driver's seat. Kariudo would most likely agree. When the moment passed, both breathed out deeply.  
  
Kariudo looked at the girl for a moment before smiling. "I'm Karuido. Most just call me Kari, though. So, what's our destination?"  
  
Kagome shook the odd feeling away and smiled. "The mall, right?" She asked, looking to both her friends on her sides. They nodded.  
  
"The mall it is," Kari laughed, and sped off, causing the four young girls to hold onto each other in fear.  
  
*****  
  
"Back off, Jackass!" Kari screamed through her open window, flipping the bird to the driver who was unfortunate enough to be besides her. She angrily leaned on the horn.  
  
Kagome watched on with slight amusement. //Jeez, Ayumi wasn't exaggerating about her temper. This girl reminds me more of Inuyasha every minute. //  
  
They car zoomed into the parking lot of the mall. For ten minutes they crept along the aisles, searching for any empty spot. Finally, she entered the beginning of an aisle where she saw a red Toyota reversing from a spot half-way through. The Toyota drove away from the lot, but their car didn't move.  
  
"What's going on?" Kagome asked, pulling herself up next to Kari. She backed away slightly when she heard what she could swear was a growl coming from the girl. She looked out through the windshield and saw another car all the way across the lot. Now she understood. It was a showdown.  
  
Kari smirked and revved the engine to psyche out the "enemy."  
  
Before Kagome could say, "dangerous," they were flying down the lane at the speed of light. The car was spiraling into the space, and Kari was proudly jumping around outside, screaming victorious obscenities to the other driver.  
  
"Well, what are you girls waiting for?" Kari asked, tapping on the rear window. The girls all let out their breath in one motion, trying to retrieve their hearts from beneath the seats.  
  
They exited the car on wobbly legs, emerging like new born fawn in the wilderness. They all blinked at Kari, who had proven her insanity to them, and Ayumi was simply holding her head in her hands and muttering about psychotic family members.  
  
They walked quickly to the mall entrance with Kari hurrying on ahead and screaming for them all to hurry up. Kagome had given up on counting the similarities between this girl and her beloved hanyou back in the Sengoku Jidai.  
  
Kari pulled open the door for herself, which slammed against the wall and made the others jump back. They rushed into the complex after the hot- tempered girl. Without discussing the destination with the others, Kari immediately led them over to a jewelry store.  
  
Ayumi look to Kagome, Eri, and Yuka apologetically. "I'm sorry for my cousin's rudeness. We should go to a few stores with her, and then try to convince her to split up. I don't know if she'll let us, though. She's always been over-protective.  
  
Kagome was beginning to have a sneaking suspicion that all these similarities weren't just coincidences.  
  
They entered the store after Kari, who was already admiring a pair of earrings.  
  
"What do you all think?" She asked, holding up the trinkets to her ears. Now, with a closer glance, she could see that Kari's ears were unusually pointed at the tip. Now this was just freaky. She was just grateful the older teen didn't have fangs.  
  
"Yeah, they're uh...great." Kagome said unenthusiastically. A pensive look flitted across her countenance.  
  
"What's with her?" Kari whispered to her cousin.  
  
"No idea." Came the reply. "She's always spacing out. Don't worry, its normal." After a few more of Kari's choice stores, the girls were bored.  
  
"Can you ask your cousin if we can separate yet?" Hissed Yuka, thinking Kari was far enough for some privacy.  
  
"Shh! Kari has excellent hearing!" Ayumi whispered back, and Kari shot around.  
  
"You guys want to separate?" Kari asked rather loudly. "Why? Aren't you having fun?"  
  
Ayumi blushed furiously and wilted under Kari's powerful gaze. "Uhh, it's not that... It's just that, well, we all have different interests than you. We'd like to go to some of our stores."  
  
Kari crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. "Fine." She sniffed. "But don't come running to me when you want to buy something but don't have enough money. We'll meet at the food court in an hour." She demanded.  
  
That said, she stormed from their view, headed to a nearby cosmetics shop.  
  
The four girls sighed in relief. "Let's go over to the bookstore and see if any new mangas have come in." Eri suggested. The other three nodded in agreement.  
  
Once they began walking back to the bookstore, they had begun chatting happily as young schoolgirls often do. They entered the large, well-lighted shop and made a bee-line for the comics and mangas section.  
  
Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi all picked up the latest Rurouni Kenshin books, Kagome was delighted to find the newest Ranma ½. About 5 minutes later, they were all in a small section on the floor, slumped against the wall, each with healthy piles of books next to them.  
  
Eri sighed. "I wish I had an exciting life. The lives of the samurais were so adventurous and amazing!" She exclaimed.  
  
Yuka agreed. "Anything's better than tests and homework. I wish I lived in that era, where they didn't know the meaning of hard work."  
  
"What?!" Kagome screeched. "Are you kidding me?! All they did was work! If they weren't harvesting rice in the paddies, they were hunting or sewing or weaving or cooking to keep their families alive and warm during the harsh seasons! Not to mention always having to defend themselves against youkai!"  
  
"Calm down, Kagome." Eri said. "It's not a big deal. Jeez, you'd think we insulted you or something."  
  
"Yeah." Yuka agreed. "Besides, everyone knows that youkai aren't real. They're just myths."  
  
"You've been spending too much time with your grandfather." Eri decided.  
  
Kagome sighed and returned to her manga. There was no reason to yell at her friends. They didn't know how false their statements were. How could they? It wasn't like everyone had a magical well that held a portal overlapping the time-space continuum in their backyard. She was just lucky.  
  
Kagome preferred Ranma ½ to Rurouni Kenshin, or any of the other action- packed mangas. After the life she led, the last thing she wanted to do was read about any more adventures in past times and fighting and risking one's life almost everyday. She just wanted to snuggle down with a silly little plot about a boy who has a sex-change when coming in contact with water.  
  
After a little while of reading, they decided to purchase their items and begin heading over to the food court. If they were late, Kari would throw a fit. No one wanted that.  
  
Kagome decided she had enough money to buy two mangas and still have enough left over for a little something at WacDonalds.  
  
The girls were clutching the small plastic bags and talking merrily about their purchases while heading to the food court. Suddenly, two boys came over.  
  
They looked Ayumi up and down, who shivered in response. The girls tried to get past the guys, but they were blocked every time. Fed up, Kagome yelled, "What do you want from us?"  
  
"Stay out of this, Ugly." One of the boys spat at her.  
  
"Yeah, we only want that one." The other added, pointing at Ayumi. Eri, Yuka, and Kagome's tempers all flared.  
  
"Leave her with us and none of you will get hurt." The first one claimed smugly.  
  
"Yeah, right!" Kagome cried. "Like we'd just leave our friend here with you jerks?"  
  
The first boy growled. "If you guys won't leave, it looks like we'll just have to over-take you by force!" He reached up and grabbed one of Ayumi's wrists, who squealed in fear. He was grabbing it tightly, enjoying the feeling of her fragile wrist in his hand. Everyone knew that if he squeezed hard enough, he could fracture her wrist.  
  
"Let her go!" Yuka screamed, taking her purse and swinging it at the boy's head.  
  
His accomplice growled. "You won't get away with that." He muttered, grabbing the closest girl next to him, who happened to be Kagome.  
  
"Let them go!!!" Yuka and Eri both screamed at the top of their lungs. Why wasn't anybody helping them?  
  
"If I were you," came a deep voice from behind, "I'd listen to the girls." The two boys whipped around and saw an extremely angry Kari, clenching her fists and biting her lips with rage.  
  
"And if we don't?" The boy who was holding Kagome asked menacingly.  
  
"I don't know." The first boy said. "This one's much prettier than any of these girls. Her hair is much prettier. We should take her instead."  
  
Kari snorted. "Release my cousin and her friend, and put your money where your mouth is."  
  
The two boys complied and ganged up on Kari. "Two against one? That isn't very fair. For you, that is."  
  
She pulled back her hand and punched the closest boy right in the nose.  
  
"FUCK!" He screamed, holding his hands up to his injury to plug the blood flow.  
  
"Bitch!" His friend screamed, running at Kari. She smiled and quickly turned around, grabbing his outstretched wrist and flipping him over her back. While he lay groaning on the floor, the bleeding boy ran past her and his injured friend.  
  
"Wait for me!" He cried, pushing himself off the floor and stealing one last terrified glance at Kari before running away.  
  
Kari turned back to the girls. "Are you all okay?" She asked softly.  
  
Kagome smiled weakly. "I guess so." She said. Ayumi was holding her wrist in her hand and whimpering.  
  
Kari was immediately next to her, gently placing a hand over it. "It's sprained." She declared. "Let's get you all home. We need to wrap this up." She said.  
  
"Your parents are going to be furious with me. You all had to be bakas and insist on separating. If you had stayed with me, this wouldn't have happened!" She yelled.  
  
Ayumi burst into tears, feeling both emotionally and physically abused. "Oh, stop that." Kari said harshly. "I hate it when people cry."  
  
The girls headed quietly back to the car in the parking lot. No one said a word as each girl was dropped off at her respective home.  
  
*****  
  
Kagome sighed and dumped her backpack on the floor of her bedroom. It was late, perhaps half an hour before dinner. She was very hungry, but more tired still. She threw herself down onto her soft bed, recalling what had happened earlier.  
  
//Okay, I met this really weird girl who looks and acts almost exactly like Inuyasha. Except that she said sorry to me, and she didn't get all panicky when Ayumi started crying, like Inuyasha does. Also, when I first got in this car, I got this really weird feeling. Like, I knew her or something. Could she be Inuyasha's reincarnation? Hmm...I guess there is a way to find out...//  
  
Her thoughts were flying around her mind, caught in a ravaging hurricane, while Kagome slowly descended into a deep slumber.  
  
*****  
  
A/N: Wow, this was longer than I expected! I really enjoyed writing this. Especially since this was an idea that just smacked me in the face, and five minutes later I was typing away. Now, I hate it when other people do this, and I hate doing this myself. I don't know if I have the time or energy left to keep up another story, especially since I'm in the middle of thinking one out. I'm afraid that if you guys want more chapters, I need at least 10 reviews. Sorry, but I've spent too much time and effort typing my heart away and getting almost zilch responses. So, 10 reviews until the next chapter. See you then (hopefully)!  
  
~Sashi  
  
P.S. Kariudo means 'hunter,' in Japanese. I think it's rather appropriate. 


End file.
